When hunting with archery bows it is desirable that the bow be able to be properly held and supported off of the body of the hunter. Further, many contemporary archery bows contain sophisticated sighting equipment and tuned counterweights which make it desirable that the bow not be laid on the ground, dropped, or otherwise subjected to physical shocks. Further, laying a bow on the ground subjects it to unnecessary moisture, dirt, etc. which adversely affects the sights, counterweights, and the structure of the bow itself.
Devices are known for hanging an archery bow from a surface in a generally upright, that is vertical, position. For example, the Fecko U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,150 discloses a bow hanger which is a long rod that has a threaded end screwed into a tree and a hook on the opposite end from which the bow is hung. While the hanger disclosed in the '150 patent is capable of suspending the bow in the ready position, it has the disadvantage of requiring a relatively complex looped motion to unhook the bow from the hanger. The hanger has a further disadvantage of being relatively large and is difficult to pack and carry. Other devices are known which rest on the ground or other horizontal surface and support the bow in a generally upright position, for example, see U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,106,044, 4,474,296, 4,360, 179. While all of the above devices work reasonably well, they have the disadvantages of first, not being designed for use off of the ground. Further, such devices do not present the bow to the hunter in the optimum position ready for shooting. In addition, such devices are often relatively large and may be awkward and difficult to carry, set up, break down, and pack with the other equipment.